City Budget

Streets Department sheds more light on the subject of lighting

The Philadelphia Department of Streets has released new money to improve street lighting.  Meanwhile, members of City Council complain that their requests for new lighting are met with claims of "no money."  Yesterday's budget hearings got to the bottom of this.

By Peter Crimmins

Listen Now [58 sec]

WHYY News, April 3, 2008

Streets Department deputy commissioner Michael Zaccagni told City Council yesterday this his department has been sitting on $250,000 that had been earmarked to improve street lighting.  According to Zaccagni, they were holding onto the money in an attempt to attract more funding from the federal government.

"This is money identified for matching federal dollars," said Zaccagni, "but we don't believe that's going to occur so this something that's just recently been done."

Chief lighting engineer John Doyle explained that the money will be used to repair and replace street lighting but members of City Council should not expect to get new lighting in their districts.

"The intention was for improvements, not installation," said Doyle.

"We will replace obsolete lighting.  It was not intended as an additional lighting program that would have been in years past capital funded."

Doyle went on to say that some of that money would be used in a crime prevention program to install new lighting at the request of the Police Department.